The Hong Kong Free Press reports, that the European Parliament has called for the “immediate and unconditional” release of Swedish publisher Gui Minhai, ten years after he was taken from his apartment in Pattaya, Thailand, and later jailed in China on espionage charges. A joint motion adopted last week also urged an end to arbitrary detention and forced confessions, and the release of those detained for exercising fundamental freedoms.
Gui, 61, was one of four Causeway Bay Books associates who went missing in 2015; he is the only one still detained. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) describes him as an emblematic figure among journalists and press-freedom defenders held in China, saying he has been denied consular support and contact with family. China’s then-ambassador to Sweden, Gui Congyou, denied in 2019 that Gui Minhai was tortured, calling him a criminal who had committed serious offences.
Angela Gui, the publisher’s daughter, renewed calls for his release, saying the family still does not know his whereabouts or how his trial was conducted, and urging Sweden and the EU to act. According to RSF’s 2025 World Press Freedom Index, China ranks 178th out of 180 countries.
